Hip-hop jewellery designers create next level bling

Story by Jill Newman

Lately, hip hop jewellery style has evolved with ever more expressive, artistic, and serious pieces. It’s more than big bling. If you have any doubt, just look at the Super Bowl LVI’s halftime show in February where the performers lite up the stage in statement jewels: The rapper Kendrick Lamar was decked out in Tiffany’s jewels – diamond rings, earrings and necklaces, Elsa Peretti bracelets and even a classic Schlumberger Maltese Cross clip. Superstar 50 Cent wore a supersized diamond necklace with his moniker. Snoop Dogg sported chunky gold chains over his track suit, one with the name Death Row Records emblazoned in diamonds. And Mary J. Blige sparkled in 33-carat mega diamond hoop earrings.

Hip-hop artists have always worn big jewels to express their style, success, aspirations and send a message. What’s different now is that hip-hop music has gone more mainstream – and the industry is influencing jewellery style. “Hip-hop is in the spotlight, people all over the world are into hip-hop,” says Mo Jooma, an owner of Icebox Diamonds & Watches, the Atlanta-based retailer. “Today, hip-hop influences fashion, cars, and jewelry. It’s just the beginning for hip-hop and jewelry.” Jooma, who established Icebox with his two brothers in 2006, is a go-to source for bespoke “iced-out” pieces. 

Rocker Machine Gun Kelly, who made headlines earlier this year when he proposed to Megan Fox with an emerald and diamond ring that he designed with Stephen Webster, also clearly loves jewellery. Known for his outrageous style (he wore a red sequined suit to the MTV VMA’s in 2021), he’s never without statement jewels – which are always styled in unexpected ways. Those include pearl necklaces, chunky bicycle chains, layered diamond earrings, and even pearls embedded into his face.

Perhaps nobody is more knowledgeable about hip-hop’s taste for jewellery and watches than Jacob Arabo, aka Jacob the Jeweler, who has been immersed in this world for 30 years. Today, he says the demand for quality statement jewels is greater than ever, and performers also want ultra-complicated, blinged-out timepieces with six figure prices and higher. 

“It comes down to self-expression,” says the New York-based Arabo. “Jewellery is a physical embodiment and celebration of hard work and achievements.” 

Arabo’s business evolved together with rap artists. Back in the ‘90s the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. discovered Arabo in a kiosk in New York’s diamond district and gave him the moniker Jacob the Jeweler. During those early days, Arabo collaborated with fledgling artists, including Pharrell and Kanye West, to create bold gold chains and diamond jewelry for their music videos. 

As a result, Arabo became a widely known figure in hip-hop music in his own right – and his name is mentioned in more than 50 songs by superstars like 50 Cent and Big Sean. In 2020, Arabo even made a cameo appearance in Drake’s music video.

Today, there are a handful of recognized jewelers working with hip-hop artists to deliver creative, blinged-out designs – and they have gained fame on social media. The demand for outrageous jewellery appears to have no limits: Johnny Dang & Co., a retailer in Houston, is known for creating bespoke Grillz (diamond and gemstone covered teeth) and jumbo-sized diamond Cuban link chains. Ben Baller in Los Angeles collaborates with artists on outrageous bespoke pieces and heavy metal chains and diamond designs. Jason of Beverly Hills is a source for large-scale diamond rocks and high-end jewelry.

It’s easy to be distracted by the mega sparkle, but many of the designs are highly sentimental and symbolic, too, explains Jooma. He collaborates with performers on figurative pieces and observed a greater knowledge and demand for quality stones and well-made jewelry. “They [performers] want to tell a story with jewellery,” he says. “Jewelry is another way for artists to show their creativity, their art.” 

Jooma says pieces often represent something from an artist’s childhood, neighborhood, friends, and crew. Ear Drummers, the hip-hop duo formed by brothers, Slim Jxmmi and Swae Lee, for example, commissioned more than a dozen pendants for their crew personalized with their names and in the shape of an ear drum.

These original and adventurous jewelry designs have inspired people outside the music industry to get more creative, Jooma says. “With hip-hop’s bigger looks and iced-out looks, the jewellery industry is going down a lane they haven’t explored before, and it’s creating more excitement in the industry.”

As a new generation of performers emerge, the demand for these blinged-out looks has grown. “As younger rappers become successful, they are inspired by what the original legends used to do when they made it big,” says Arabo. “Like Kanye famously rapped about how after he got his first big check, he would come to see me. That was back in the early 2000s and I think rappers today had that on their vision board, whether they come to me or not.”

They still come to Jacob the Jeweller: J Balvin, one of the best-selling Latin music rap artists, commissioned a playful gemstone pendant in the image of himself. Nigo, the Japanese designer, DJ, and record producer had an enormous bespoke diamond and polar bear pendant made. Hip-hop artist Rick Ross commissioned an all-over baguette diamond ring. What’s next? Clearly, the possibilities are limitless.

Read about Tiffany & Co x Arsham Studio Basketball Pop-up